When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes: Philip was the governor of Jerusalem (see 2Macc 5.22). The man is Judas Maccabeus. Philip saw that Judas was making steady progress, and that his victories were becoming more frequent. Gaining ground little by little does not necessarily imply acquiring territory, though this was no doubt involved, only that Judas was having some success. For he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, Good News Bible may be used as a model, but this clause may also be rendered “he was winning more and more victories” or even “he was capturing more towns and villages.” For the first half of this verse Revised English Bible has “When Philip realized that the gains made by Judas, though small, were occurring with increasing frequency,” or we may even say “When Philip, the governor of Jerusalem, realized that Judas and his soldiers were winning more victories [or, defeating the Gentiles more and more], and slowly taking over more and more territory.”

He wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, for aid to the king’s government: Philip called on his superior for help. This Ptolemy was mentioned earlier 2Macc 4.45. For Coelesyria see the comments on 1Macc 10.69; for Phoenicia see the comments on 2Macc 3.5. For aid to the king’s government may be rendered “to protect the government [or, interests] of King Antiochus.” In those languages that require direct speech, translators may render the last half of this verse as “he wrote a letter to Ptolemy the governor of Greater Syria and Phoenicia, saying, ‘Dear Governor Ptolemy, please help me defend King Antiochus’ interests here in Judea.’”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.